Lejeune boxer Herring meets President

By RICK SCOPPE

Published: Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 01:49 PM.

While Jamel Herring wasn’t sure what to expect, the Marine Corps sergeant said that meeting President Barack Obama, his wife and the vice president along with other U.S. Olympians at the White House was an experience he’ll remember forever.

Herring, 26, who is based out of Camp Lejeune, said he chatted briefly with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden while also having a personal moment with the first lady, Michelle Obama, during a ceremony on the South Lawn on Friday.

“It was great. It was an honor,” Herring said during a telephone interview. “He (Obama) spoke a few words. I told him I was a United States Marine stationed in Camp Lejeune, that I was deployed twice. He congratulated me.

“Michelle Obama was there as well. She gave me a hug. Vice president, we shook hands. He spoke a few words. It was a great moment that I’ll never forget.”

It was also more than Herring expected. Herring said Obama took the time to meet “each and every Olympian” while sharing a few words with each athlete.

“I just thought it was going to be all the athletes in the background and that he would say a few kind words about the athletes and then just carry on his daily schedule,” Herring said. “But he actually took time out of his schedule to make sure he got to meet and greet each Olympian. I wasn’t expecting that.”

Obama said the Olympians were the “portrait of what this country is all about,” adding they “could not have been better ambassadors for the United States.”

While Jamel Herring wasn’t sure what to expect, the Marine Corps sergeant said that meeting President Barack Obama, his wife and the vice president along with other U.S. Olympians at the White House was an experience he’ll remember forever.

Herring, 26, who is based out of Camp Lejeune, said he chatted briefly with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden while also having a personal moment with the first lady, Michelle Obama, during a ceremony on the South Lawn on Friday.

“It was great. It was an honor,” Herring said during a telephone interview. “He (Obama) spoke a few words. I told him I was a United States Marine stationed in Camp Lejeune, that I was deployed twice. He congratulated me.

“Michelle Obama was there as well. She gave me a hug. Vice president, we shook hands. He spoke a few words. It was a great moment that I’ll never forget.”

It was also more than Herring expected. Herring said Obama took the time to meet “each and every Olympian” while sharing a few words with each athlete.

“I just thought it was going to be all the athletes in the background and that he would say a few kind words about the athletes and then just carry on his daily schedule,” Herring said. “But he actually took time out of his schedule to make sure he got to meet and greet each Olympian. I wasn’t expecting that.”

Obama said the Olympians were the “portrait of what this country is all about,” adding they “could not have been better ambassadors for the United States.”

Given all the venues he has fought in, including the Olympics, Herring said he wasn’t nervous about meeting Obama.

“I was more excited to actually be in the presence of everything that was going on,” he said. “I took a moment to acknowledge that I was a U.S. Olympian and that I’ll be an Olympian the rest of my life.”

Herring, who like all Olympians, had sought to bring home a gold medal from the London Games. But the personable light welterweight lost 19-9 to Daniyar Yeleussinov of Kazakhstan in his first bout, ending his dream of gold.

“It was kind of a heartbreaking experience after everything went down,” Herring said of his Olympic experience. “But after coming home and being greeted by friends and family that supported you, things haven’t changed. I’ve been doing real well since.”

With the Olympics over, Herring is leaving the Marines and turning pro, with his “contract” with the Marines ending Nov. 16.

“It was kind of hard, but as time went along I stuck with my plan. I felt I had a dream. My dream was to be a world champion,” he said. “Even though I won’t be a Marine when that time comes, once I get to the chance I want to be part of that history.

“The Marines still go by their history of their past Marines who became world champions like Ken Norton, Leon Spinks and others like that. So I’m just trying to be part of that outfit, Marines in the past who became world champions.”

As he prepares for his future as a professional boxer, Herring plans to meet with Al Haymon, a Harvard-educated boxing promoter and manager who includes Floyd Mayweather Jr. among his fighters.

“He’s actually interested in me,” Herring said. “So we’re going to talk about some things, scheduled future fights, but in the pro side.”

Herring also has a trainer, Mike Stafford, who has trained a number of top professionals and amateurs, including three-time Olympian Rau’shee Warren. He was named the 2005 coach of the year by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

“He actually came out and wanted to train me. I felt he was a great coach,” Herring said. “I actually worked with him last year at the world championship camp.”

Herring said Stafford invited him out to training camp in Colorado Springs, which begins Sept. 24.

“I’m going to train with him and get him to look at me and try to adjust to the pro style. We’re looking at October timeframe for my first pro bout,” Herring said. “Like I’ve said many times, I had planned the Olympics to be one of my last events as an amateur.

“Even thought I didn’t come home with what I wanted to from the Olympics, I can say I still ended my amateur career on a positive note on the grandest stage of them all.”